by Kym Grosso
“Did you forget something?” Shane glared, crossing his arms.
“Last night,” her uncle began.
“What’s wrong with Benny?” Braelynn’s heart pounded at the sight of the lifeless animal.
“Don’t interrupt.”
“What’s wrong with Benny?” she repeated, louder. She caught Shane glancing at the cream-colored couch, a scarlet stain smeared across its fibers.
“This.” Her uncle gave a cruel grin, holding the limp black mass in the air. “It scratched me.”
“You didn’t!” Braelynn brought her hands to her mouth.
“When I call you, I expect an answer.” He threw the animal at her feet.
“How could you?” Falling to her knees, she scooped up the cat, its broken neck flopping to the side. She shook her head, burying her face in its still warm body. Pressing her lips to its head, she sobbed uncontrollably. “No, no, no.”
In her grief, she didn’t notice them approach her. A thick fist seized Braelynn by her hair, dragging her onto her feet. Her arms fell open, and the dead feline rolled onto the floor. She sucked a hard breath, the excruciating grief slicing through her chest. Without warning her uncle slapped his open hand across her face. Shock rolled through her as the pain registered; iron-tanged blood dripped into her mouth. As he lifted his arm again, Shane intervened, throwing her onto the sofa.
“Hold her for me,” her uncle demanded.
“We are in a sensitive situation, Mr. Giordano. She can’t go to the office with a bruise on her face.”
“Listen to me, you little slut,” her uncle continued. “The next time you decide to whore your body around at a company function, you’d better think twice. Lars Elliott fucks anything that has legs. Is that who you spread open for last night? Tell me!”
“What are you talking about? Last night, you weren’t upset. You said he was there as a guest. I was entertaining him.” Braelynn crept backward on the sofa, scanning the room for an object she could use as a weapon. She wiped the blood from her mouth. “Besides, where I go when I’m not at work is none of your business.”
As her uncle attempted to go after her, Shane blocked him. “Sir. Please. We don’t know if she’s even done anything. We still need her.”
“We’ll hire another scientist.”
“But how would you explain her absence? She’s well known. Brings respectability to the west coast operation.”
“I wasn’t with anyone,” she lied. “I…I went to the beach. I always go to the beach.”
“You’re lying,” he accused her, kicking the dead cat across the room. “You’ve got a goddamned beach in front of your house.”
Her reddened eyes looked at Benny’s lifeless body in horror. She shuddered inwardly, but resisted the urge to react.
“It was high tide. You know I do research at night. I went to the strand. Pleuroncodes planipes.”
“What the fuck? Stop with the mumbo jumbo. Speak English,” he demanded.
“Red tuna crabs. They’ve been washing in recently. I miss it. The field work.” Braelynn summoned her courage, straightening her spine and defiantly challenging her uncle. “How can you expect me to stay in the office all day? I must maintain my connection with nature if I’m to continue in this field. Ever since I arrived at Bart-Aqua, I haven’t been permitted to leave.”
“Who gives a shit about the damn crabs?” Shane interjected.
“El Niño. They’ve been washing up the past couple of years. I wanted to observe the latest wave.” Braelynn knew full well she could have seen them in the daylight, but it was the first excuse that popped into her mind. “There is a whole nocturnal ecosystem that occurs on the beaches.”
“Clean yourself up and get to the office.” Her uncle brushed the sleeves of his fine Italian suit and avoided eye contact with her. “I need you to review the Mead report that’s going out on Monday. It’s a big contract. Jeannette said you weren’t in today. You can imagine my concern when we couldn’t locate you.”
“I…I fell asleep.” Braelynn’s eyes went to Benny, who lay lifeless on her white tiled floor. Fresh tears emerged and she choked back a sob. “On the beach. When I woke up, I ate breakfast in Coronado and checked out a few shops.”
“If I find out you’re lying to me…” He paused, wrapping his fingers around the brass door handle. The threat lingered, his cold eyes drilling into her. “If I find out you’re fucking Elliott, you’re done, little Braelynn Sadie.”
“Don’t say her name!” Braelynn cried at the mention of her mother.
“My sister was a bitch. You’re living under my control now, niece. You do what I say when I say it. I don’t tolerate lies.”
“I didn’t lie,” she protested.
“You work for me now. Your mother’s dead. Your father…is missing. You wouldn’t want to go missing too, now would you?” Her uncle approached her slowly. Shane sidled next to her but didn’t move to stop him when he grabbed her chin. “You will not disgrace me. My work here is important. Confidential. If you go blabbing those little lips of yours,” he smudged his stubby fingers over her mouth, smearing blood over her swollen cheeks. With a firm push, he shoved her onto her side, “you could go missing too. Do we understand each other?”
Braelynn nodded, shocked at the sight of him tasting her blood. A monster. He glared at her as he opened and walked out the front door.
As Shane went to leave, he turned to address her. “Don’t forget to lock your doors.” The tone in his voice sounded sincere but anger burned in his chestnut eyes.
Braelynn shuddered as a loud slam echoed throughout the house. Her uncle’s threats were nothing new, but it was the first time he’d hit her. A devastating cry tore from her throat.
“Benny.” His name trembled off her lips as she crept slowly towards his body. She brushed a bloody hand across her cheek, sobbing, before crumpling onto the floor next to him.
Chapter Ten
Lars cursed as Braelynn took off down the street in her midnight-blue Prius. He was ten minutes down I-5 on his way to meet a client when he decided there was no way he could leave her by herself. Even though she’d given him partial answers, his instinct told him she was still in danger. She’d carefully avoided telling him where she lived, but Lars already knew her address, one of the few things he’d learned during his investigation. He tapped at his phone, quickly entering her location and got off at the next exit.
Thoughts of his encounter with Braelynn in the pool threaded through his mind. Chemistry had sizzled between them. Her response to his kiss had been explosive, her lips accepting and sweet; she’d come apart at his touch. It had taken every ounce of his discipline to walk away from her. At the time, he’d told her that he wanted the truth, but the irony wasn’t lost on him. He was no angel. He’d fucked many a woman, never asking or caring about their lives. But Braelynn wasn’t just any woman.
As he drove through her affluent neighborhood, he wondered how a scientist could afford to live in one of the recently renovated beachfront properties. He couldn’t imagine Bart-Aqua paid her anywhere near what she would need to live in one of the trendy homes abutting the spectacular cliffs.
Lars pulled his convertible alongside the curb, turned off the engine, and tapped the steering wheel, deliberating his next steps. He caught sight of a black limo rolling from the far end of the street, and slid down into his leather seat, concealing his face with his baseball hat. From his peripheral vision, he watched as Armand Giordano emerged from her home. A second man, who he’d recognized from the gala followed. Why the hell is her boss at her house on a Saturday afternoon?
Lars glanced back to the stretch, watching as Giordano removed his suit jacket that revealed a bright red streak across his shirt. Lars’ heartbeat sped up at the sight, but before he had a chance to call out to the departing limo, the old man disappeared into the car and slammed the door shut. As it screeched down the street, Lars took off running toward her home.
He reached the door within second
s, but logic warned him not to break it down. He pounded on the whitewashed wood, telling himself that he’d give her five seconds to open up, or he’d smash through it. He figured if he was wrong, he’d apologize later. One. Two.
“Get out!” Braelynn screamed.
Lars immediately shoved through the door and ran into the foyer. Guilt stabbed through him as he took in the sight of Braelynn sitting on the floor. With her head resting against the wall, she cradled a black ball of fur, her eyes staring blankly at him. A trickle of blood was smeared down her chin.
“Don’t,” she whispered, shaking her head back and forth.
“Brae.” Lars approached slowly. “What did they do to you?”
“My cat.” Her voice cracked as tears rolled down her face. “He killed him.”
“Jesus Christ. We have to call the police.” Lars reached for his cell phone but went still at the sound of her voice.
“No.” Panic laced her words, her hands trembling as she petted her cat’s fur.
“Okay. Just…” Lars took a deep breath and knelt. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. Not only had they hurt her, they’d killed an innocent animal. He struggled to contain his rage, but he forced himself to remain calm. He’d been in life and death situations, but nothing compared to seeing her hurt again. He lowered his voice, careful not to scare her. “Listen sweetheart. I’m a witness. I just saw Giordano leave here. I don’t know if it was him or the thug who was with him, but I have a friend. He can help.”
“No, no, no,” she repeated.
“I promise he won’t hurt you.”
“You don’t understand. I’ll never be safe. I’ll never escape.” She closed her eyes, her head drooping forward.
“You can’t let him get away with this.” Lars began to peck at his phone’s screen.
“No!” Her eyes flew open. “I’ll deny it.”
“Jesus, Brae. Would you please open up and tell me…” Lars blew out a breath, realizing she was traumatized. Without her testimony, it’d be hard to make charges stick. He stuffed the phone in his pocket, and crept toward her.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This isn’t your problem. My fault. My fault,” she repeated.
“Please. Just, here…let me take the cat.” His eyes locked on hers as he reached forward.
“It’s going to be okay. I promise. You don’t have to talk right now. Let’s just get…it’s Benny, right?” When she nodded, he placed his hands over hers, giving a stroke to its fur. “Let me take him. I promise I’ll take care of him, okay?”
“You promise?” Fresh tears emerged.
“Promise.” Lars gave her a comforting smile, trying his best to subdue the anger boiling in his gut. Armand Giordano was a dead man.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten you into this.” She closed her eyes, releasing a sob.
“I promise this is going to be all right.” Lars scanned the room and stretched his arm out to snatch a throw blanket off the back of a chair. Unfolding it onto the floor, he focused his attention back on Braelynn. “I’m going to wrap him up now. You ready?”
“Yes,” she cried. Lifting the cat, she kissed its head.
“That’s it, Brae. I’m just going to…” Lars took the animal and carefully placed it onto the fabric. Wrapping it up gently, he folded the material until it was covered.
“I don’t know what to do…I…” she gulped back the tears. Wiping her face, she shook her head. “I have to get out of here. I have to go to the office. I have to…”
“Brae, please. I’ve got you.” Lars sighed as she fell into his outstretched arms. He embraced her small form, cursing the bastards who’d this done to her.
“I’m leaving San Diego,” she confessed.
“What?” Lars asked, his hands stroking her hair.
“I’m leaving. I can’t stay here.” Braelynn clung to him, her palms pressed to his chest.
Hot tears burned through his shirt as the vibration of her shivering broke his heart. Whatever was happening in her life scared the hell out of her. He glanced over to a wall full of photographs of different locations across the world. He recognized the waters of Bali, Mexico as well as several from southern California and Florida. Braelynn’s bright smile made him wonder what evil could have crushed her spirit.
“I don’t know what happened here. I don’t even need you to tell me right now. But Braelynn…look at me,” he told her, cupping her chin with his hand. She blinked up at him, and he wiped away a tear with his thumb. “I meant what I said. I know we don’t know each other very well. But you can trust me. Whatever we just shared back in the pool, that was real. And even if there wasn’t anything between us, you could still trust me. That day on the beach…we both could have died. Things like that have a tendency to bring people together. I know you’re hiding something. Something bad. And I have no reason to trust you either…especially after you tried to get in my house. But none of this makes any sense to me. You can’t tell me that someone who goes through all you’ve been through to earn your spot in this industry as a leading biologist throws it all away for nothing.”
“I told you I can’t tell…”
“You can tell me. But you won’t. Because you’re scared.”
“Lars…you don’t know these people. I can’t ask you to get involved,” she began.
“You didn’t ask. The asshole who shot a hole through you that day on the beach? That guy asked me to get involved. I tried to let it go after the hospital. I really did. But I kept seeing you lying there in the sand. Hearing the bullets. Whoever did this is still out there. He can do it to someone else.”
“You can’t catch them. They…” Her lips tightened as she went silent.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, sweetheart. The bad guys are going to end up in jail or dead. And when this ends, I prefer the latter.” Lars had long considered that perhaps Dean had bought into her act of denial all too easily and that was why he hadn’t pursued her attackers. But whatever trouble she was in ran far deeper than the incident on the beach. And he suspected that whatever she planned with the key could get her killed.
“I have to go to work,” she protested, attempting to pull out of his arms.
“You’re in shock,” Lars told her.
“I have to get it over with. You don’t understand. He expects me.”
“Who expects you?”
“My un…Mr. Giordano,” she corrected.
“You seriously think you’re going back to work for him? Sorry, sweetheart but I’ve got news for you. You’re quitting.”
“No, I’ve got…there’s something I need.”
“You’re not leaving San Diego either,” he told her.
“But I can’t live here. I can’t work here. I just told you…”
“I know what you told me, but I’m putting an end to this circus.”
“I have things…things in the office I need,” she persisted.
“We’ll have your things sent for.”
“No, I need to get them myself. I’m not safe.”
“Braelynn. I know you don’t know me very well but I have a feeling whoever was involved with the shooting has something to do with Giordano. Your lip.” He brushed his finger over it and she winced. “Look what he did here.”
“I don’t want to leave, but I have no choice. I have to get my things,” she pressed.
Disgusted with the situation, Lars shook his head as he glanced to the entombed bundle, and back to the broken woman before him. Braelynn was in some serious shit. He wished he could turn her over to the police. Whatever answers he thought she’d give him were far from forthcoming. He reasoned he could go back to enjoying his life, riding waves at dawn and women riding him at night. But both the strength and vulnerability inside Braelynn drew him to her. Saving her twice wasn’t enough, and he wondered if he’d ever be able to let her go.
“Lars,” Braelynn said, breaking his contemplation. “Please, you have to know that I don’t want to lie to you. But some t
hings…I can’t talk about them. You know this is true. You are in the business. We can’t say everything.”
“Please don’t tell me that you’re trying to protect Giordano.”
“God, no,” she sighed. “I’m talking about…you know…clearances. I have them. You have them, right?”
“Of course, but if there is something illegal going on, you can report it.”
“It’s complicated.”
Lars gave a small laugh, irritated that she’d even try to explain it away.
“No, please, you’ve got to listen to me. You keep telling me to trust you. And God, you have no idea how much I want to. But this thing, it’s dangerous. There’s something I need in the office.”
“Something that doesn’t belong to you.”
“Technically, no.” Braelynn speared her fingers up into her thick locks, twirling it into a ponytail. “And I can’t tell you who I’m giving it to either. Just me telling you this much could put you in danger.”
“I’m going to make you another deal.”
“Does this involve handcuffs?” She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Only if you want it to.” He gave a small grin, hoping that she was starting to feel well enough to leave.
“I refuse to answer that.” The corner of her mouth ticked upward but she couldn’t manage a smile.
“Let’s pack up some of your things. Come stay with me for a while. I’ll take you to Bart-Aqua.”
“You can’t come in with me.”
“I didn’t say I’m coming in with you. I said, I’d take you. They might not let me in but I’m sure as hell not letting you go by yourself. You go in and get whatever you need and then get out. After what happened here today, there’s no way I’m leaving you alone.” Corporate espionage. Lars suspected she was stealing information. Why and for who were two questions he had no answers to. Whoever wanted the information was either threatening her or possibly willing to kill her as well. “I get you don’t want the police involved, but I need to think on this. I know about classified information, I really do. That’s my business. But whatever you’re involved in…”
